The Dayton Metro Library will ask voters this November to approve a property tax increase to prevent possible cuts to hours, materials or technology.
The five year, 1 mill levy would cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $35 a year, according to library Executive Director Jeffrey Trzeciak.
"It has been 15 years since our last operating levy in 2009," Trzeciak said.
The library has about a $7 million budget gap to maintain current services, he said.
"So if we're unable to pass the levy in the fall, we're looking at cutting about $7 million out of our budget," Trzeciak said. "That would affect hours, materials we can buy, technology that we support, and it'll affect our facilities upkeep as well."
If approved, the levy would generate about $10.5 million a year, he said, covering the library system’s rising expenses. That includes the cost of popular ebooks and audiobooks.
"A typical book might cost $15. But that exact same book as an ebook might be $65, and the exact same book as an audiobook might be $95," Trzeciak said. "With the ebooks and the audiobooks, we lease them. We don't own them. So if a book continues to be popular for a long time, and the lease expires, which is usually two years, we may have to lease it again. We're shelling out the money again. "
The library system serves all Montgomery County residents, but Trzeciak said voters living in Oakwood, Centerville-Washington Township and Germantown won’t vote on this levy. Those communities have independent libraries.
